Acceptance is the key to be truly free
by bechloehuh
Summary: "Chloe's breath hitched as she watched Beca's professional-like fingers strum the strings of her shiny, black Ibanez acoustic guitar. When the redhead had noticed the guitar in the corner of the brunette's closet, she couldn't stop herself from asking Beca to sing. She missed Beca's alto voice, and she always loved when the brunette would sing just for her."(Fluffy little one-shot)


**This is for you, Amanda! (aka Duh2024)**

* * *

**Acceptance is the key to be truly free**

It was five months after the ICCA's. Five months after the Bellas became the first female acapella group to _win_ the ICCA's. Five months after Beca kissed Jesse after they performed. Five months since Chloe Beale had graduated.

Five months, and Beca has only just realized that she made a huge mistake.

Dating Jesse was.. it was nice, sure. But it was weird. It was just like before, when they were friends. Which should be a good thing, right?

(Wrong.)

Dating Jesse felt like she was dating her annoying best friend that she's known her whole life. The annoying best friend who you just don't have any feelings for other than completely platonic. Don't get her wrong, he was funny. He was charming. He was cute. He was an amazing best friend. But not a good boyfriend.

The thing she hated most about him was that he tried to change her. He tried to turn their relationship into a typical Hollywood movie relationship. With fireworks every time they kissed, magic every time they made love. With kisses in the rain, and being in the right place at the right time.

The truth is, she didn't feel fireworks when they first kissed at the ICCA's. She didn't feel fireworks when she kissed him on the Treblemaker's bus afterwards, either. She didn't feel magic when they first had sex, three months after they got together. She felt none of these typically, cliche, romantic things with Jesse. And yes, it took her four months to realize that she doesn't belong with the hopeless romantic, movie-nerd.

Four months to realize that she doesn't love him like he loves her.

* * *

Chloe graduated four months ago, and hours after her graduation, she was on a plane to New York.

Yes, Chloe Beale currently lives over two thousand kilometres away from Barden University now. Over one thousand and three hundred miles away from the town of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Twenty three hours away from her best friend, Beca Mitchell.

Yet for some reason, they're still best friends. They have been for longer than a year now. And as cliche as it sounds, it feels to them like they have been best friends their whole life.

It was like this; as soon as they had enough money for a plane ticket, they'd fly out to see each other. If one of them were ill, they'd fly out to see each other. If one of them were upset about something, they'd fly out to see each other. If one of them had just broken up with her typically cliche, hopeless romantic boyfriend, they'd fly out to see each other.

And that's why Chloe found herself standing in front of Beca's dorm room, an hour after her plane had landed in Baton Rouge. She hadn't told Beca that she was flying over. She wanted it to make a surprise, seeing as Beca would have probably insisted that she was "fine" and there was "no need."

She just hoped that her little DJ was home.

* * *

It was a Friday night and the brunette was putting the finishing touches on a mash-up when she looked over at the clock which read 10:32pm. Kimmy Jin had left the brunette on her own to go to her friends dorm when Beca came in with a jar of Nutella and a six pack can of her favorite beers, because instantly the Korean girl knew what had happened.

(Yes, gossip spreads_ that_ quickly at Barden.)

And Kimmy didn't want to be the one to hold Beca's hair back when the DJ finally realized that Nutella and beer are not a great combination.

Her mix of Oasis' _**Don't Look Back In Anger**_ and The Beatles' **_Let It Be_** was playing in the background as she stood up to go fetch her sleepwear from her closet. After picking out some shorts, a tank top and some fluffy socks - yes, she's a self-proclaimed bad ass but that doesn't stop her from wearing fluffy bunny socks to bed - she sat back down at her desk and took a gulp of her beer.

Just as she put the can down though, there was a knock at the door.

She sighed, figuring that she couldn't just ignore it because 1. That would be rude.. And 2. They could probably hear her music so she's kinda obliged to open it now.

She turned the music down, stood up and dragged her feet across the floor towards the door, where whoever it was knocked a few more times.

"I'm coming!" she yelled, quickly grabbing her snuggie off of the end of her bed in case there was a cold draft when she opened the door. She reached for the door handle and swung the door open, and her jaw dropped when she noticed who was standing before her.

"Chloe?"

"BECA!" The woman yelled as she instantly closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms tightly around Beca's shoulders, knocking the snuggie off of her. (But the brunette didn't particularly care.

If she's honest, she was too fucking shocked at who was hugging her right now.)

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not even _trying_ to hide the grin that adorned her face as she clung onto her best friend. "You're supposed to be in New York."

"Well it's nice to know where I'm not wanted." Chloe giggled, and the brunette's heart almost stopped at that giggle that she hadn't heard for _months,_ (not counting phone calls or Skype calls.)

Beca's smile only grew bigger as she breathed in, taking in the scent of her friend. She smelled like strawberry shampoo and some sort of beachy, summery perfume that was _so Chloe_. She felt tears pricking the corners of her eyes and she squeezed them shut as she felt Chloe's hands rubbing her back.

"Holy shit you're actually here." she breathed out, tightening her grip as if Chloe would disappear if she let go. But when she did let go, Chloe was still there.

(And she couldn't tell you how fucking happy that made her.)

* * *

_**Oh no, did I get too close?**_

_**Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?**_

_**All your insecurities,**_

_**All the dirty laundry,**_

_**Never made me blink one time.**_

Chloe's breath hitched as she watched Beca's professional-like fingers strum the strings of her shiny, black Ibanez acoustic guitar. When the redhead had noticed the guitar in the corner of the brunette's closet, she couldn't stop herself from asking Beca to sing. She missed Beca's alto voice, and she always loved when the brunette would sing just for her.

_**Unconditional, unconditionally,**_

_**I will love you unconditionally,**_

_**There is no fear now,**_

_**Let go and just be free,**_

_**I will love you unconditionally.**_

Beca shuffled in her swivel chair as she tried to get comfy, taking a deep breath as she carried on singing with ease, looking down at the string of the guitar. The DJ's voice ricocheted off of the walls as she sang the song that she had written before the ICCA's. Before Chloe had graduated. Before she kissed Jesse. Before Chloe had moved to New York.

(Before everything went to shit basically.)

_**Come just as you are to me,**_

_**Don't need apologies,**_

_**Know that you are worthy,**_

_**I'll take your bad days with your good,**_

_**Walk through the storm I would,**_

_**I do it all because I love you, I love you.**_

The redhead noticed that Beca wasn't looking at the lyrics in her notebook anymore, showing that she knew the words that she had written off by heart. So Chloe picked up the book, and started to sing the chorus with the brunette.

_**Unconditional, unconditionally,**_

_**I will love you unconditionally,**_

_**There is no fear now,**_

_**Let go and just be free,**_

_**I will love you unconditionally.**_

Their voices meshed together brilliantly, just like that night in the shower. The redhead's hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she listened to how well they both sounded; completely disregarding the fact that her heart beat seemed to synchronize with the strum of the instrument.

_**So open up your heart and just let it begin,**_

_**Open up your heart and just let it begin,**_

_**Open up your heart and just let it begin,**_

_**Open up your heart.**_

Chloe stopped singing, and the strumming of the guitar slowed down as Beca took a slower approach to her favourite part of the song. She looked up into Chloe's eyes, not even needing to know where to place her fingers as she changed chords, as she had already practiced the song so many times before.

_**Acceptance is the key to be,**_

_**To be truly free,**_

_**Will you do the same for me?**_

Then Chloe joined in at the chorus again, not even needing to look at the notebook now.

_**Unconditional, unconditionally,**_

_**I will love you unconditionally,**_

_**And there is no fear now,**_

_**Let go and just be free,**_

_**'Cause I will love you unconditionally (oh yeah)**_

_**I will love you (unconditionally)**_

_**I will love you,**_

_**I will love you unconditionally.**_

The room became silent as they both stopped singing and Beca's guitar playing quietened. The DJ looked down at her feet nervously, not wanting to be the first one to speak.

"Wow. That.. That was.." the redhead paused, seemingly lost for words. "Beca, that was beautiful."

"Thanks."

"You _wrote_ that?"

"Yeah." she laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her neck and stood up from her place on the desk chair. She walked over and put the guitar back in her closet, and then walked back over to the redhead. She motioned towards her songbook in Chloe's hand, and the redhead gave her it with a shy smile.

"Want a beer?" Beca asked her, breaking eye contact and ignoring the nervous, tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach as Chloe nodded with a huge grin.

* * *

A tub of Nutella and two and a half beers later, the two of them were watching funny videos of cats on YouTube. (Chloe's idea.)

They don't know how, but somehow Chloe had ended up sitting on Beca's lap while the brunette sat on her swivel chair at her desk. The redhead's left arm was around Beca's shoulders, and Beca's right arm was wrapped protectively around the redhead's waist, making sure she didn't fall off of her knee. Although, they both thought the other saw nothing of it, inside they were almost melting at the situation they were in.

(Also still thinking about the intimacy they shared when they sang that song a few hours ago.)

"That cat looks like you." Beca deadpanned as she pointed to a ginger cat, and the redhead playfully smacked her on the arm, earning a giggle from the DJ. (Which Chloe internally swooned at.)

If she's honest, the redhead absolutely lived for these moments. Being with Beca like this, in their pajamas on a Friday night as they watched funny videos on YouTube. She was pretty sure that she was the only person in the world who had managed to break down Beca's walls, and she loved being with Beca at her most vulnerable state.

_No,_ not the_ bad_ type of vulnerable. But the type where Beca would pin her hair back in a loose ponytail. Wear cute little pajamas while eating chocolate out of the jar. Wipe her make-up off and wear her, surprisingly sexy, looking glasses. (And yes, Chloe's pretty sure that nobody else even knew that Beca wore glasses.)

They hadn't done this in a while, and Chloe was sure that she was absolutely the happiest she's ever been right now.

Beca clicked on another random video, and a clip of a bulldog chasing a cat came on the screen, and Chloe pointed at the dog while giggling manically. "_That_ looks like _you_!"

"Woah, not cool!" Beca laughed as she pushed Chloe playfully, but the redhead could feel herself falling backwards off of the chair. Before she did though, Beca quickly wrapped her other arm around her waist, tightened her grip and pulled her flush against her. The redhead, too in shock to realize what was happening, gasped when she felt Beca's cold hand on her bare back where her shirt had ridden up.

Suddenly, Beca stood up and Chloe wrapped her legs around the brunette's mid-section as a reflex, and the brunette quickly made her way to the bed. Then before Chloe knew it, she was being thrown on to the bed and Beca's nimble fingers started tickling her, making her scream out in mercy.

"BECA STOP-OH MY GOD!" she shouted in between laughter, trying her hardest to grip Beca's hands, but the brunette was surprisingly strong. Beca pinned Chloe's hands up above her head as her other hand quickly danced across her abdomen, where Chloe was most ticklish.

"Take it back!" Beca grinned, climbing on top of the redhead which made it easier for her to tickle her.

"Ne-ver!" the redhead panted, squirming under Beca's touch. The brunette carried on tickling her, however, Chloe had managed to pry her hands free, and Beca found herself flying backwards off of the bed and onto the floor as Chloe shoved a pillow in her face. The redhead, having to lean forward to push Beca off of her, lost her balance off of the bed and had landed on top of the brunette.

"Payback!" Chloe yelled as she dug her fingers into Beca's side and started tickling her, and small DJ giggled uncontrollably, begging for her to stop. Chloe carried on tickling her, however, the brunette was stronger than she looked, and she flipped them over so she was straddling the redhead's stomach again.

"You're a dick!" she joked. Then she looked down at Chloe, panting and huffing out breaths, still occasionally giggling. Her tired arms came to rest at the side of Chloe's head, and when the redhead noticed that Beca wasn't trying to tickle her anymore, she let herself relax.

Then the brunette lowered herself so she was resting on her elbows, making her face inches away from the redhead's, and it only just dawned on her that she could feel Chloe's heavy pants against her lips. But the redhead hadn't made any sign of wanting to move, so Beca lowered her head an inch, until she could basically smell Chloe's breath.

(Sure, it smelled like beer and Nutella, but hers did too.)

She brought one of her hands up to stroke Chloe's cheek in a surprisingly affectionate manner, and her face had managed to draw closer to Chloe's. She noticed the redhead's eyes were closed, and her chest wasn't heaving up and down anymore. She looked down at the woman's soft lips before her desire to kiss her overtook every part of her brain, and she couldn't take the tension anymore. She closed her eyes, and closed the last remaining distance between them as she pressed her lips against Chloe's.

Now this was no where near how she felt when she kissed Jesse. This _was_ fireworks. This _was_ butterflies. This _was_ magic. This was everything the brunette had wished for.

And _so_ much more.

Then she remembered what Jesse had said the day they broke up.

* * *

_**"Is this because of Chloe?" he asked, his tone surprisingly calm.**_

_**"What? What has Chloe got to do with this?"**_

_**"You spend all your time texting and skyping her, and I've lost count of how many times you've cancelled our dates just because Chloe needs cheering up."**_

_**"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"**_

_**"Beca, are you in love with her?"**_

_**"With Chloe? No!" she shook her head, taking a step away from the boy.**_

_**"Then why are you breaking up with me?!"**_

_**"Because I don't love you, Jesse! I thought I did but it's just dawned on me now that I'm making a huge mistake, being with someone who I don't even love!"**_

_**"You could learn to love me, Beca."**_

_**"It's not like that. I don't want to be with you anymore." She sighed. "I'm sorry."**_

_**"Just please tell me if this has anything to do with Chloe."**_

_**"No, it doesn't."**_

* * *

And now she's only just realized that she was wrong.

So fucking wrong.

She pulled back, her eyes still closed as she reveled in the moment of just being with Chloe. (Albeit in a very intimate position.)

"I think love you." she whispered, and opened her eyes just as Chloe's own eyes widened in surprise.

"W-what?"

"Oh," she breathed out as she pulled back, but stopped when she felt Chloe's hands on her hips. "I.. Holy shit, Chloe.. I-I've literally just realized.." her face turned into a huge grin. "Oh my God, I'm in love with you!" she breathed out, followed by a laugh as she stood up from where she was straddling Chloe. The redhead watched from the floor in amusement as Beca ran both hands through her hair with a look that she could only describe as excited, and the she sighed in relief.

"Beca, what are you-" she was interrupted when she felt cold hands grab her wrists and pull her up from the floor. She looked down at their joined hands, then looked up into Beca's eyes, which were almost black with desire.

"Chloe, I'm so in love with you." Beca whispered, this time less calmer as she stepped forward so their torso's were almost touching.

"Are you serious?"

"I've never been more serious in my whole life." she grinned from ear to ear as she watched Chloe let out a breath of air. Then before she knew it, their lips had crashed together again, this time conveying every single emotion that they had felt since they met that day at the activities fair.

Beca only just realizing how fucking oblivious she must have been to not notice that Chloe was in love with her too.

_**Acceptance is the key to be,**_

_**To be truly free,**_

_**Will you do the same for me?**_


End file.
